Utilizing and Supporting Evacuated Peace Corps Volunteers Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3700 To provide Peace Corps Volunteers and Trainees whose service was termi- nated as a result of the COVID–19 pandemic with health insurance, an expedited redeployment process, and domestic service opportunities, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 12, 2020 Mr. MURPHY (for himself, Ms. COLLINS, and Mrs. FEINSTEIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To provide Peace Corps Volunteers and Trainees whose serv- ice was terminated as a result of the COVID–19 pan- demic with health insurance, an expedited redeployment process, and domestic service opportunities, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Utilizing and Sup- 4 porting Evacuated Peace Corps Volunteers Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 May 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3700.IS S3700 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3700 IS SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF INCLUSION OF PEACE CORPS 1 VOLUNTEERS IN FEDERAL PANDEMIC UNEM- 2 PLOYMENT COMPENSATION PROGRAM. 3 (a) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘‘ap- 4 plicable individual’’ means an individual— 5 (1) who was serving as a Peace Corp Volunteer 6 or Trainee before the date of the enactment of this 7 Act; 8 (2) whose period of service was subject to early 9 termination as a result of the COVID–19 pandemic; 10 and 11 (3) who is unemployed and not eligible for reg- 12 ular unemployment compensation or extended unem- 13 ployment benefits under Federal or State law, in- 14 cluding an individual who has exhausted all rights to 15 regular unemployment or extended benefits under 16 Federal or State law. 17 (b) INCLUSION OF APPLICABLE INDIVIDUALS.—Not- 18 withstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of 19 Labor shall deem applicable individuals as covered individ- 20 uals for purposes of section 2102 of the Relief for Workers 21 Affected by Coronavirus Act (subtitle A of title II of divi- 22 sion A of Public Law 116–136). 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 May 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3700.IS S3700 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3700 IS SEC. 3. HEALTH INSURANCE CONTINUATION FOR PEACE 1 CORPS VOLUNTEERS. 2 Section 5(e) of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 3 2504(e)) is amended— 4 (1) by striking ‘‘Volunteers shall receive such 5 health care’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) Volunteers shall re- 6 ceive such health care’’; and 7 (2) by adding at the end the following: 8 ‘‘(2) Volunteers whose periods of service were subject 9 to early termination as a result of the COVID–19 public 10 health emergency declared under section 319 of the Public 11 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d), and applicants for 12 enrollment described in section 8(a) whose training prior 13 to enrollment was subject to early termination as a result 14 of such public health emergency, shall receive— 15 ‘‘(A) 2 months of health insurance upon their 16 return to the United States; and 17 ‘‘(B) an opportunity to extend such health in- 18 surance, at the expense of such volunteer or appli- 19 cant for enrollment, until the last day of the last 20 week for which such volunteer or applicant for en- 21 rollment is eligible for payments under section 2102 22 of the Relief for Workers Affected by Coronavirus 23 Act (subtitle A of title II of division A of Public Law 24 116–136). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 May 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3700.IS S3700 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3700 IS ‘‘(3) Not later than 30 days prior to the date on 1 which the period of service of a volunteer shall terminate, 2 the Director of the Peace Corps, in consultation with the 3 Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall provide 4 general guidance to such volunteer on options for health 5 care after termination other than health care provided by 6 the Peace Corps, including information regarding— 7 ‘‘(A) the application process and eligibility re- 8 quirements for medical assistance through State 9 plans under title XIX of the Social Security Act (or 10 waiver of State plans); 11 ‘‘(B) the qualified health plans (as defined in 12 section 1301(a) of the Patient Protection and Af- 13 fordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18021(a))) offered 14 through an Exchange established under title I of 15 such Act, including the enrollment periods for enroll- 16 ing in such plans; and 17 ‘‘(C) if such volunteer is 25 years of age or 18 younger, the eligibility of such volunteer to enroll as 19 a dependent child in a group health plan or health 20 insurance coverage in which the parent of such vol- 21 unteer is enrolled if such plan or coverage offers 22 such dependent coverage.’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 May 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3700.IS S3700 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3700 IS SEC. 4. EXPEDITED HIRING FOR PEACE CORPS VOLUN- 1 TEERS. 2 (a) NONCOMPETITIVE ELIGIBILITY HIRING STA- 3 TUS.— 4 (1) DISTRIBUTION OF INFORMATION.—Not 5 later than 30 days after the date of enactment of 6 this Act, and annually thereafter, the Director of the 7 Office of Personnel Management, in coordination 8 with the Director of the Peace Corps, shall prepare 9 and distribute information to each Federal depart- 10 ment and agency in the executive branch regarding 11 the noncompetitive appointment eligibility available 12 to Peace Corps volunteers for up to 3 years under 13 Executive Order 11103 (22 U.S.C. 2504 note; relat- 14 ing to Providing for the Appointment of Former 15 Peace Corps Volunteers to the Civilian Career Serv- 16 ices), as amended by Executive Order 12107 (44 17 Fed. Reg. 1055; relating to the Civil Service Com- 18 mission and Labor-Management in the Federal Serv- 19 ice), including the qualifications for such eligibility. 20 (2) EXPEDITED PROCESS.—Each Federal de- 21 partment and agency in the executive branch facing 22 critical hiring needs as a result of the COVID–19 23 pandemic or that have unfilled noncompetitive posi- 24 tions shall establish a process by which staff with 25 hiring authority receive the information described in 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 May 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3700.IS S3700 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3700 IS paragraph (1) from the Office of Personnel Manage- 1 ment about the expedited process for hiring such in- 2 dividuals who meet the minimum qualifications of a 3 vacant position. 4 (b) CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY 5 SERVICE.—The Chief Executive Officer of the Corpora- 6 tion for National and Community Service, in coordination 7 with the Director of the Peace Corps, shall establish an 8 expedited process by which Volunteers and Trainees evac- 9 uated due to the COVID–19 public health emergency can 10 participate in domestic service opportunities. 11 SEC. 5. RESUMPTION OF PEACE CORPS OPERATIONS. 12 (a) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘‘re- 13 enroll’’ means the resumption of Peace Corps service, for 14 a period determined by the Director of the Peace Corps, 15 of Volunteers and Trainees evacuated due to the COVID– 16 19 public health emergency. 17 (b) RESUMPTION REQUIRED.—As soon as practicable 18 after the Director of the Peace Corps determines, as a 19 result of the cessation of the COVID–19 pandemic, that 20 it is safe to resume Peace Corps global operations, the 21 Director shall seek to resume, to the fullest extent pos- 22 sible, all of the Peace Corps programs in every country 23 in which the Peace Corps operated immediately before the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 May 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3700.IS S3700 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3700 IS March 15, 2020, suspension of all Peace Corps volunteer 1 activities. 2 (c) REPORT ON RESUMPTION OF PEACE CORPS OP- 3 ERATIONS FOLLOWING END OF PUBLIC HEALTH EMER- 4 GENCY.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the en- 5 actment of this Act, the Director of the Peace Corps shall 6 submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations 7 of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 8 the House of Representatives that describes the efforts of 9 the Peace Corps— 10 (1) to offer reenrollment to each Peace Corps 11 Volunteer and Trainee whose service ended suddenly 12 on March 15, 2020 (or earlier, in the case of volun- 13 teers who were serving China and Mongolia), due to 14 the COVID–19 public health emergency; 15 (2) to obtain approval from countries, as appro- 16 priate, to return reenrolled Volunteers and Trainees 17 to their previous assignments or countries of service; 18 (3) to provide additional measures necessary for 19 the safety and health of Volunteers and Trainees 20 and to develop contingency plans in the event over- 21 seas operations are disrupted by future COVID–19 22 outbreaks; 23 (4) to develop and maintain a robust volunteer 24 cohort; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 May 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3700.IS S3700 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3700 IS (5) to identify the anticipated additional appro- 1 priations or new statutory authorities that would be 2 necessary to achieve the goal of safely redeploying 3 7,300 Peace Corps Volunteers during the 1-year pe- 4 riod beginning on the date on which Peace Corps op- 5 erations resume. 6 (d) EXPEDITED REENROLLMENT PROCESS.—The 7 Director of the Peace Corps shall establish an expedited 8 process for the reenrollment of former Peace Corps Volun- 9 teers and Trainees whose service was interrupted as a re- 10 sult of the COVID–19 outbreak, including— 11 (1) streamlining, to the fullest extent prac- 12 ticable, all application requirements for the reenroll- 13 ment of such Volunteers and Trainees during the 2- 14 year period beginning on March 15, 2020; 15 (2) expediting the medical clearance for such 16 Volunteers and Trainees to facilitate reenrollment; 17 (3) beginning on the date on which such Volun- 18 teer or Trainee reenrolls, providing such Volunteer 19 or Trainee with the compensation, allowances, bene- 20 fits, and other terms and conditions of service to 21 which the volunteer is entitled under the Peace 22 Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2501 et seq.); and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 May 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3700.IS S3700 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3700 IS (4) subject to the discretion of the Director, af- 1 fording evacuated Volunteers and Trainees, to the 2 fullest extent practicable, the opportunity— 3 (A) to return to their previous country of 4 service; and 5 (B) to resume work in the project area in 6 which they had been serving immediately before 7 their evacuation due to the COVID–19 public 8 health emergency. 9 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 10 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 11 this Act and section 5(e)(2) of the Peace Corps Act, as 12 added by section 3(2), such sums as may be necessary for 13 fiscal years 2020 through 2022. 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 May 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3700.IS S3700 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS